Project Overview
Caz3D is a Winnipeg-based 3D printing company known for its high-quality printing services, 3D printer sales, and its own line of CAZ-branded filaments. Rooted in innovation and accessibility, the brand has built a reputation as a trusted resource for hobbyists, professionals, and businesses both locally and across Canada.
Caz3D approached our agency for a full website redesign and platform migration. Their existing site, built on Wix, struggled to handle their expanding product catalogue efficiently. A major issue was the inability to properly manage product variants—each variation (e.g., colour or material type) had to be listed as a separate product, resulting in over 1,200 product pages for roughly 400 SKUs. This created a poor user experience and made inventory management complex. Shopify was selected as the new platform to support multi-variant product pages and streamline both the customer journey and back-end operations.
Goals
- Migrate the existing site from Wix to Shopify
- Redesign the website with an updated visual direction
- Revamp the brand guidelines
- Develop a custom-built navigation system
- Migrate and consolidate all product data
- Enhance product page design
- Build reusable, easy-to-update frontend sections
- Secure stakeholder approval for launch
Challenges & Solutions
Limited Client Experience with Shopify
Since the client was new to Shopify, we focused on creating highly intuitive modules and also documented key workflows for easy onboarding.
Since the client was new to Shopify, we focused on creating highly intuitive modules and also documented key workflows for easy onboarding.
Navigation Structure Overhaul
The original navigation was cluttered, inconsistent, and included several dead links and confusing submenu structures. This made it difficult for users to explore the full product range or discover additional services. The client specifically referenced a competitor’s navigation style that they admired, which became a useful starting point.
We used that inspiration to design a custom, scalable navigation system that was both user-friendly and easy for the client to manage. The new nav supports featured product imagery, clear category hierarchies, and dynamic content all editable through the Shopify Theme Editor. This improved not only the user flow but also made it easier for the Caz3D team to highlight seasonal items, promotions, or new categories without developer support.
My Role & Responsibilities
UI/UX Designer - Brand Stylist - Front-End Developer
I led both the creative and technical direction of the Caz3D website redesign, working across design, development and team coordination.
Key Contributions:
Creative Direction & Team Leadership
Directed a team of junior designers during the concept phase. Assigned key sections, provided design feedback, and refined layouts for client presentation.
Directed a team of junior designers during the concept phase. Assigned key sections, provided design feedback, and refined layouts for client presentation.
Brand Style Development
Developed a refreshed visual identity—modernizing typography, color palette, and UI elements better to reflect the brand’s technical and creative strengths.
Developed a refreshed visual identity—modernizing typography, color palette, and UI elements better to reflect the brand’s technical and creative strengths.
UI Design
Designed high-fidelity mockups with a strong focus on usability, responsiveness, and consistency across all touchpoints.
Designed high-fidelity mockups with a strong focus on usability, responsiveness, and consistency across all touchpoints.
Custom Navigation Design
Created a new navigation system inspired by competitor analysis, designed for clarity, scalability, and improved user flow.
Created a new navigation system inspired by competitor analysis, designed for clarity, scalability, and improved user flow.
Theme Customization & Front-End Development
Built and customized the Shopify theme, including reusable content sections and custom modules tailored to the client’s needs.
Built and customized the Shopify theme, including reusable content sections and custom modules tailored to the client’s needs.
Content & Product Migration
Led the migration from Wix to Shopify—streamlining over 1,200 individual product pages into manageable, multi-variant listings for a cleaner user experience.
Led the migration from Wix to Shopify—streamlining over 1,200 individual product pages into manageable, multi-variant listings for a cleaner user experience.
Site Refresh Design Process
Wireframes, high-quality Mockups ,and Product card Ideation
High Fidelity Homepage
High fidelity product collections with product card options
High fidelity product page with mutiple variants
High fidelity material information page
Wireframe 3D modeling Page
Wireframe 3D Printing Page
High fidelity navigation - 3D printers
High fidelity navigation - Filament
Tools Used
Figma – Wireframing, high-fidelity mockups, and responsive design prototypes
Shopify (Refresh Theme) – Customized the Shopify "Refresh" theme to build a scalable and branded eCommerce experience
HTML / CSS / JavaScript / Liquid – Front-end development and theme customization, including reusable content modules and custom components
Notion – Tracked progress, documented development tasks, and managed module planning in a collaborative workspace
Design Systems / Component highlights
As part of the redesign, we focused heavily on creating a flexible, component-based system that could scale with Caz3D’s growing product catalog while remaining easy to manage from the Shopify backend. A key goal was ensuring that even non-technical team members could make updates without relying on developers.
Product Cards
We designed several variations of product cards, each with fully developed hover and click states. These variants were tested for visual clarity, mobile responsiveness, and interaction quality. After presenting the options to the client, one final design was selected to be used consistently across the site. This approach ensured both visual consistency and user familiarity throughout the shopping experience.
Scrolling Announcement Bar
On the old site, site-wide announcements—like sales, restocks, or shipping updates—had to be manually stacked, resulting in a tall and cluttered header area when multiple notices were active. We solved this by developing a custom scrolling announcement bar. This new component automatically cycles through multiple messages in a single horizontal bar, reducing vertical space usage while keeping important updates highly visible. It’s also fully manageable via the Shopify Theme Editor, giving the client complete control over the message content and order.
Filament Module (Reusable Section)
We created a custom filament display module to highlight their signature CAZ-branded filaments. This reusable section was built with Shopify’s native theme customization tools, making it fully editable through the Theme Editor. Clients can easily update product images, descriptions, or pricing without navigating complex workflows—ideal for users who aren't deeply familiar with Shopify’s backend.
Focus on Admin Usability
A major objective of the redesign was to improve the day-to-day usability of the site—not just for customers, but also for the Caz3D team managing content. The previous platform (Wix) was difficult to navigate and time-consuming to update. Every module and custom section on the new site was developed with ease of use in mind. By leveraging Shopify’s native customization tools and building reusable components, we empowered the client to manage their store content more intuitively and efficiently.
Before
After
Caz3D old Hompage
Caz3D old Product Page
Caz Old Collection
Results & Outcomes
The redesign and platform migration delivered measurable improvements across performance, usability, and business visibility.
Faster Load Times
By optimizing assets and moving to a cleaner, more efficient Shopify theme, we reduced the site’s average load time by approximately 15%, improving the overall browsing experience.
By optimizing assets and moving to a cleaner, more efficient Shopify theme, we reduced the site’s average load time by approximately 15%, improving the overall browsing experience.
Improved Customer Flow & Reduced Abandoned Checkouts
The updated site structure, cleaner UI, and simplified checkout process contributed to a notable drop in abandoned carts, as users were able to find and purchase products more easily.
The updated site structure, cleaner UI, and simplified checkout process contributed to a notable drop in abandoned carts, as users were able to find and purchase products more easily.
Increased Visibility for Additional Services
One of the key goals was to draw more attention to Caz3D’s lesser-known offerings like Print-on-Demand services. Through strategic placement in the navigation and homepage modules, these services received significantly more engagement post-launch.
One of the key goals was to draw more attention to Caz3D’s lesser-known offerings like Print-on-Demand services. Through strategic placement in the navigation and homepage modules, these services received significantly more engagement post-launch.
Streamlined Product Inventory
By consolidating individual product variants into unified listings, we reduced the total number of product pages from over 1,200 to around 500. This not only simplified inventory management for the client but also created a more cohesive and intuitive shopping experience for users.
By consolidating individual product variants into unified listings, we reduced the total number of product pages from over 1,200 to around 500. This not only simplified inventory management for the client but also created a more cohesive and intuitive shopping experience for users.
Higher Engagement Across Site Pages
The redesigned navigation system helped users explore beyond just the product catalog. Analytics showed an increase in visits to secondary pages, such as About, Services, and Contact, indicating stronger overall engagement with the brand.
The redesigned navigation system helped users explore beyond just the product catalog. Analytics showed an increase in visits to secondary pages, such as About, Services, and Contact, indicating stronger overall engagement with the brand.
Note: This project was completed as part of a collaborative team effort at Rule1 Agency. All roles listed reflect my direct contributions.
Live website: https://caz3d.com/
Live website: https://caz3d.com/
